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Councilmember Charles Allen 2
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A BILL 5
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
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To amend, on a temporary basis, the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative 15
of 1999 to provide the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration the ability to 16
extend the 45-calendar day public comment period for cultivation center, retailer, or 17
internet retailer licenses to an unlicensed establishment by an additional 30-calendar days, 18
to clarify which persons have standing to protest the issuance of a cultivation center, 19
retailer, or internet retailer license to an unlicensed establishment, to align the enforcement 20
procedures with those provided in Title 25 of the District of Columbia Official Code, and 21
to clarify that the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board has the authority to issue cease-22
and-desist orders mandating compliance with the provisions of the Medical Cannabis 23
Program; and to amend the Medical Cannabis Amendment Act of 2022 to clarify that the 24
Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board has authority to enforce against commercial 25
property owners in whose properties are used to operate illegal cannabis businesses. 26
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 28
act may be cited as the “Medical Cannabis Program Enforcement Temporary Amendment Act of 29
2024”. 30
Sec. 2. The Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective 31
February 25, 2010 (D.C. Law 13-315; D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01 et seq.), is amended as 32
follows: 33
(a) Section 7 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06) is amended by adding a new subsection (c-34
1) to read as follows: 35
“(c-1) It shall be a violation of this act for any unlicensed or licensed cultivation center, 36
manufacturer, retailer, or internet retailer to represent that goods or services or the business is 37
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compliant with the Legalization of Possession of Minimal Amounts of Marijuana for Personal Use 38
Initiative of 2014, effective February 26, 2015 (D.C. Law 20-153; D.C. Official Code § passim); 39
provided, that a licensed cultivation center, manufacturer, retailer, or internet retailer may have 40
signage indicating that there is medical cannabis on the property.”. 41
(b) Section 7a(h) (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06a(h)) is amended to read as follows: 42
“(h)(1) The ABC Board shall provide notice of complete and eligible cultivation center, 43
retailer, and internet retailer license applications received from unlicensed establishments to the 44
Councilmember, and any Advisory Neighborhood Commission within 600 feet of where the 45
establishment is or will be located (“affected ANC”), for a 45-calendar day public comment period. 46
The ABC Board may extend the public comment period required by this paragraph in response to 47
a written request submitted by either an affected ANC or the applicant by an additional 30-calendar 48
days. 49
“(2) An affected ANC may protest the issuance of the license. 50
“(3) The ABC Board shall hold a contested case protest hearing within 120 days of 51
receiving a timely protest from an affected ANC pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection. 52
“(4) The provisions of this subsection shall apply to all applications submitted to 53
ABCA after the effective date of the Medical Cannabis Program Enforcement Emergency 54
Amendment Act of 2024, passed on emergency basis on January 9, 2024 (Enrolled version of Bill 55
25-XXX).”. 56
(c) Section 7b (D.C. Official Code § 7–1671.06b) is amended by adding a new subsection 57
(e) to read as follows: 58
“(e) An unlicensed establishment shall not display signage or imagery advertising relating 59
to: 60
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“(1) The prices of cannabis or cannabis product in the window; 61
“(2) Cannabis or a cannabis product on the exterior of any window or on the exterior 62
or interior of any door; or 63
“(3) Cannabis or a cannabis product on the exterior or visible from the exterior of 64
the unlicensed establishment or elsewhere in the District.”. 65
(d) Section 9 (D.C. Official Code § 7–1671.08) is amended as follows: 66
(1) Subsection (d) is amended by striking the phrase “licensed cultivation” and 67
inserting the phrase “licensed or unlicensed cultivation” in its place. 68
(2) A new subsection (f) is added to read as follows: 69
“(f) Beginning January 31, 2024, the ABC Board may issue the following fines to an 70
unlicensed establishment that violates section 7(c-1) or 7b(e), or has not filed an accepted and 71
pending application with the ABC Board and knowingly engages or attempts to engage in the 72
purchase, sale, exchange, delivery, or any other form of commercial transaction involving cannabis 73
that is not purchased, sold, exchanged, or delivered in accordance with the provisions of this act 74
or section 401 of the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1981, effective 75
August 5, 1981 (D.C. Law 4-29; D.C. Official Code § 48-904.01): 76
“(1) For the first violation, the ABC Board may issue a written warning to the 77
unlicensed establishment; 78
“(2) For the second violation, the ABC Board may: 79
“(A) Issue a fine in the amount of $10,000; and 80
“(B) Require the unlicensed establishment to submit a remediation plan to 81
the ABC Board that contains the unlicensed establishment’s plan to prevent any future recurrence 82
of purchasing, selling, exchanging, delivering, or otherwise transacting any cannabis that is not 83
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purchased, sold, exchanged, or delivered in accordance with the provisions of this act or section 84
401 of the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1981, effective August 5, 85
1981 (D.C. Law 4-29; D.C. Official Code § 48-904.01); and 86
“(3) For any subsequent violations or if the unlicensed establishment fails to submit 87
a remediation plan in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection, or if the ABC Board rejects 88
the unlicensed establishment’s remediation plan, the ABC Board may issue additional fines.”. 89
(e) Section 13a (D.C. Official Code § 7–1671.12a) is amended as follows: 90
(1) Subsection (a) is amended by striking the phrase “Board or the Mayor” both 91
times it appears and inserting the word “Board” in its place. 92
(2) Subsection (d) is amended by striking the phrase “Board or the Mayor” and 93
inserting the word “Board” in its place. 94
(3) Subsection (f) is amended by striking the phrase “Board or the Mayor” and 95
inserting the word “Board” in its place. 96
(f) New sections 15, 16, 17, and 18 are added to read as follows: 97
“Sec. 15. Examination of premises, books, and records. 98
“(a) An applicant for a license, and each licensee, shall allow any ABCA investigator, agent 99
of the ABC Board, or any member of the Metropolitan Police Department full opportunity to 100
examine, at any time during business hours: 101
“(1) The premises where a cannabis product is manufactured, kept, sold, or 102
consumed for which an application for a license has been made or for which a license has been 103
issued; and 104
“(2) The books and records of the business for which an application for a license 105
has been made or for which a license has been issued. 106
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“(b) ABCA investigators shall examine the premises and books and records of each 107
licensed establishment in the District at least once each year. The investigators shall make 108
reasonable efforts to ensure that the licensee shall know in advance the date of the inspection. 109
“Sec. 16. Search warrants for illegal cannabis products; disposition of seized products. 110
“If a search warrant is issued by any judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia 111
or by a United States Magistrate for the District of Columbia for premises where any cannabis 112
products are sold, exchanged as part of a commercial transaction, delivered, or permitted to be 113
consumed in violation of this title, the cannabis product and any other property designed for use 114
in connection with the unlawful manufacture for sale, keeping for sale, selling, or consumption 115
may be seized and shall be subject to such disposition as the court may make thereof. 116
“Sec. 17. Notifications from Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Office of 117
Tax and Revenue, Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, and Metropolitan Police 118
Department. 119
“(a) The Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, the Office of Tax and 120
Revenue, and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department shall notify the ABC Board 121
if a licensed establishment is the subject of a citation, revocation, or other enforcement action for 122
a violation of laws or regulations enforced by those agencies or offices within 30-calendar days 123
after the citation, revocation, or other enforcement action. 124
“(b) If a licensed establishment is the subject of an incident report by the Metropolitan 125
Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department shall file a copy of the incident report with 126
the ABC Board within 30-calendar days after the incident. The ABC Board shall make the report 127
available for public inspection upon request. 128
“Sec. 18. Nuisance. 129
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“(a) Any building, ground, or premises where cannabis is sold, exchanged as part of a 130
commercial transaction, delivered, or permitted to be consumed by an unlicensed establishment 131
shall be a nuisance, except any building, ground, or premises of an applicant that filed an accepted 132
and pending application with the Board during the 90-calendar day open application period. 133
“(b) An action to enjoin any nuisance defined in subsection (a) of this section may be 134
brought in the name of the District of Columbia by the Attorney General for the District of 135
Columbia in the Civil Branch of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against any person 136
conducting or maintaining such nuisance or knowingly permitting such nuisance to be conducted 137
or maintained.”. 138
Sec. 3. The Medical Cannabis Amendment Act of 2022, effective March 22, 2023 (D.C. 139
Law 24-332; 70 DCR 1582), is amended as follows: 140
(a) Section 8 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1675.01) is amended as follows: 141
(1) Subsection (a) is amended as follows: 142
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended as follows: 143
(i) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase 144
“Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration makes final determinations for the licensure of 145
unlicensed establishments pursuant to §§ 7-1671.06a and 7-1671.06b, for the first violation 146
of D.C. Official Code § 47-2844(a-2)(1B), the Mayor” and inserting the phrase “Alcoholic 147
Beverage and Cannabis Board (“ABC Board”) makes final determinations for the licensure of 148
unlicensed establishments pursuant to sections 7a and 7b of the Legalization of Marijuana for 149
Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective March 22, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-332; D.C. Official 150
Code §§ 7-1671.06a and 7-1671.06b), for the first violation of section 9(f) of the Legalization of 151
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Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective July 27, 2010 (D.C. Law 18-210; 152
D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.08(f)), the ABC Board ” in its place. 153
(ii) Subparagraph (C) is amended by striking the phrase “D.C. 154
Official Code § 47-2844(a-2)(1B)” and inserting the phrase “section 9(f) of the Legalization of 155
Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective July 27, 2010 (D.C. Law 18-210; 156
D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.08(f))” in its place. 157
(B) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the phrase “provided to the 158
Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration,” and inserting the phrase “provided to” in its 159
place. 160
(2) Subsection (b) is amended as follows: 161
(A) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “D.C. Official 162
Code § 47-2844(a-2)(1B)” and inserting the phrase “section 9(f) of the Legalization of Marijuana 163
for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective July 27, 2010 (D.C. Law 18-210; D.C. Official 164
Code § 7-1671.08(f))” in its place. 165
(B) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “The Mayor” and 166
inserting the phrase “The ABC Board” in its place. 167
(C) Paragraph (2) is amended as follows: 168
(i) Subparagraph (A) is amended to read as follows: 169
“(2)(A) The ABC Board shall require the commercial property owner to submit a 170
remediation plan within 14 days after the notice of a fine under paragraph (1) of this subsection to 171
the ABC Board that contains the commercial property owner's plan to prevent any future violations 172
of section 9(f) of the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective 173
July 27, 2010 (D.C. Law 18-210; D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.08(f)).”. 174
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(ii) Subparagraph (B) is amended by striking the phrase “the Mayor, 175
in consultation with the Director of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, rejects 176
the commercial property owner's remediation plan, the Mayor may issue additional fines or revoke 177
the commercial property owners’ licenses” and inserting the phrase “the ABC Board rejects the 178
commercial property owner’s remediation plan, the ABC Board may issue additional fines” in its 179
place. 180
(3) Subsection (c) is amended as follows: 181
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “Office of 182
Administrative Hearings” and inserting the phrase “Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board 183
(“ABC Board”)” in its place. 184
(B) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the phrase “Office of 185
Administrative Hearings” and inserting the phrase “ABC Board” in its place. 186
(C) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking the phrase “administrative law 187
judge” and inserting the phrase “ABC Board” in its place. 188
(4) Subsection (e)(1) is amended by striking the phrase “Office of Administrative 189
Hearings” and inserting the phrase “ABC Board” in its place. 190
(b) Section 9 is amended as follows: 191
(1) Subsection (a) is amended by striking the phrase “7, and 8” and inserting the 192
phrase “and 7” in its place. 193
(2) Subsection (c)(2) is amended by striking the phrase “this act” and inserting the 194
phrase “the provisions identified in subsection (a) of this section” in its place. 195
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 196
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The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 197
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 198
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 199
Sec. 5. Effective date. 200
(a) This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by 201
the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 202
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 203
1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code §1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 204
Columbia Register. 205
(b) This act shall expire after 225 days of its having effect. 206